Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater served as Senator from Arizona twice, from 1953 to 1965, then from 1969 to 1987. He probably would have held his seat uninterrupted if not for the fact that in 1964, he decided to run for President against Lyndon B. Johnson and stepped down from his Senate position to do so.

He was succeeded in his Senate seat by John McCain, who is mentioned by name by Reagan in his 'A City Upon a Hill' speech due to McCain's release from a POW prison of Vietnam.

Goldwater is named frequently due to the fact that Reagan's 'A Time For Choosing' speech was an endorsement of him for President. While Goldwater failed to win (in fact, it was one of the most one-sided Presidential elections in history), the support for Reagan garnered by the speech helped him win election as governor of California and, later, President.